Watched April 23rd, 2018
April Fool’s Day is a day not often tackled in horror, from what I’ve seen that is. It’s always struck me as prime day for events to unfold and in Slaughter High unfold they do. Written and directed by George Dugdale, Mark Ezra and Peter Litten (yes three directors) this is a fucking awesome cult gem I didn’t know about until last week. The basic story follows the typical 80’s slasher formula: nerdy kid is horrifically bullied by the jock and popular kids and is subsequently deformed/injured. The film however drags the bullying out excessively and where these movies usually end up making you feel bad for the kids being murdered, there’s no sympathy here. Those bullies get what they deserve and in the best of ways.
The exposition is longer than I was expecting (most of the first half is Marty being bullied and then hurt) but it does a good job of really hammering home the thought that the audience should not like the bullies. The pacing however is very wonky and I felt myself losing interest in the middle because it fell a little stagnant. The fun picks back up, however, and when the kills begin I wasn’t tempted to keep checking my phone. The movie forwards to ten years later and our group of bullies are getting ready to go their high school reunion at their old now abandoned high school...you can probably imagine where this is going. The kills start (with my favorites death being a girl dying in a bathtub that gets filled with skin-melting chemicals and a tractor falling into a guy and he’s killed by the spinning blades) courtesy of Marty being our killer dressed in a letterman jacket and a full-head jester mask. I don’t know why this outfit never caught on because it’s truly a fucking great look.
The ending left me very confused because it pulls a “then my alarm clock went off” moment and it’s sort of revealed the murders never happened and Marty imagined it in a mental hospital. He kills a nurse and a doctor and looks into the camera before it cuts to black. I wasn’t a fan of this ending because I preferred Marty getting his actual revenge rather than another horror entry equating mental illness with serial killers. The ending takes some of the movies kick away for me but it can’t erase that fact that we got to see some great kills. The inclusion of a score by Harry Manfredini, who also scored the Friday the 13th series, was a great addition to the film and really helped set the mood.
I think what struck the biggest chord with me was the very obvious choice to make the audience sympathize with Marty. Never once do we root for someone to make it out alive, it is called Slaughter High for a reason. I’m a huge fan of 80’s horror but I haven’t seen nearly enough of the cult 80’s slashers (Pieces, My Bloody Valentine, and The House on Sorority Row are next on my list) so I was very pleased with my first outing with one. Although if the viewer isn’t a genre fan or low budget fan this really won’t do anything for them. This is definitely not the film I’d introduce my friends to the slasher genre with because while it’s enjoyable it’s overall not great and the fun won’t land with casual fans.
2 ½ stars out of 5
Also! Since this blog is a work in progress and a way to better my media writing skills I greatly appreciate tips/advice on how to word things better! Constructive criticism is always welcome to please feel free to give me any.